The Montreal Canadiens have been in a rebuild over the past several seasons. As a result of their rebuild, the Canadiens have built up an impressive young core highlighted by players like Juraj Slafkovsky, David Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, and Logan Mailloux to name a few.
With such immense talent particularly on defense, there is starting to become limited spots to fight for on the NHL roster not only this year but beyond. A new report from Canadiens journalist Mathias Brunet and host of the Processus podcast suggested that defenseman Justin Barron could be the sacrifice made to fit in other young players.
With the immense amount of talent on the Montreal Canadiens blueline for years to come one of them will likely have to go. Justin Barron not only has the expendability for the Canadiens but qualities that other teams could covet as well.
Many fans and media around the NHL are expecting the Montreal Canadiens to be in the playoff push this upcoming season. If they are going to be a playoff contender the team will likely need to add more veteran leadership and experience to this extremely young lineup.
Using Justin Barron, who is still just a 22-year-old defenseman who is right-handed, could easily land a high-impact veteran. On top of his youth and handedness, Justin Barron had a successful season in 2023-24, tallying 13 points in 48 NHL games. The former first-round pick in 2020 still has plenty of development left ahead of him and could be a hidden gem for a team in need of youth on their blueline.
As the season starts to ramp up, if the Montreal Canadiens get off to a good start, the rumors surrounding Justin Barron could begin to get even hotter. If he makes the opening night roster and is able to show the consistency that has been lacking in prior years then Justin Barron might be able to fight off the up-and-coming stars for one more season.
POLL | ||
Will Justin Barron end up making the opening night roster for the Montreal Canadiens? | ||
Yes | 73 | 47.4 % |
No | 81 | 52.6 % |
Liste des sondages |